Hatshepsut biography summary of thomas
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Her reign was characterized by extensive building projects, successful trade expeditions, and stable governance. Hatshepsut’s actions as regent were also perfectly normal. Hatshepsut fully acknowledged Tuthmosis III and made no attempt to take the throne from him.
A passage in the tomb of Ineni (a court official) notes …
He (Thuthmosis II) went forth to heaven in triumph, having mingled with the gods; His son (Thuthmosis III) stood in his place as king of the Two Lands, having become ruler upon the throne of the one who begat him.
Neferure became the wife of Thutmose III in order to confirm his right to rule (as his mother was not of noble blood).
Hatshepsut
People > Hatshepsut
Background
Hatshepsut was one of the most remarkable and successful pharaohs of ancient Egypt, reigning during the 18th Dynasty of the New Kingdom from approximately 1479 to 1458 BCE. She is renowned for her unprecedented role as a female pharaoh, her extensive building projects, and her prosperous and peaceful reign.
His sister the Divine Consort, Hatshepsut settled the affairs of the Two Lands by reason of her plans. She had only one full sibling, her sister Akhbetneferu (Neferubity) who died in infancy.
Her father was also married to Mutnofret (possibly the daughter of Ahmose I) who bore four sons; Wadjmose, Amenose, Thuthmosis Akheperenre (Thuthmosis II), and Ramose.
This image is an uneasy compromise between the essentially male insignia and titles of kingship and her position as a female regent.
It is not clear exactly when Hatshepsut progressed from the role of co-regent to pharaoh, but it was sometime before or during her seventh year of rule because pottery jars with labels dating to that year were discovered in the tomb of Senenmut’s parents which name her as “The Good Goddess Maatkare”, the name she took as pharaoh.
On becoming pharaoh Hatshepsut gradually assumed all of the symbols that went with the job including the Khat (a head scarf with an uraeus), the Nemes headdress, the shendyt kilt, and the traditional false beard.
Egypt was made to labour with bowed head for her, the excellent seed of the god, which came forth from him.
While still acting as regent, Hatshepsut was depicted at Karnak making offerings to the gods – usually the sole prerogative of the king. Hatshepsut surrounded herself with supporters in key positions in government, including Senenmut, her chief minister.
The Red Chapel at Karnak is a notable example of her building initiatives.
Trade Expeditions:
- One of Hatshepsut’s most celebrated achievements was the expedition to the Land of Punt (modern-day Somalia or Eritrea), which is depicted in detailed reliefs at Deir el-Bahri.
Co-regencies were very common during the Middle Kingdom, as they avoided successional difficulties and allowed the junior pharaoh to be trained into his role. In other images, however, she appeared in traditional female regalia. She sought to reinvent her image, and in statues and paintings of that time, she ordered that she be portrayed as a male pharaoh, with a beard and large muscles.
Many years after her death her successor, Tuthmosis III, would make a concerted effort to erase her rule.
Pharaoh’s Names
Nomen; Ma’atkare
Copyright J Hill 2010
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As a consequence, scholars of ancient Egypt knew little of Hatshepsut’s existence until 1822, when they were able to decode and read the hieroglyphics on the walls of Deir el-Bahri.In 1903, the British archeologist Howard Carter discovered Hatshepsut’s sarcophagus (one of three that she had prepared) but it was empty, like nearly all of the tombs in the Valley of the Kings.
The expedition brought back valuable goods such as myrrh, frankincense, gold, ivory, and exotic animals.
Domestic Policy and Governance:
- Hatshepsut's reign was marked by internal stability, economic prosperity, and successful administrative reforms.
This title was passed to Neferure.
The unorthodox nature of this move required some justification, and a re-working of her history to play down her right to act as regent as the wife of Tuthmosis II and instead proclaim her right to be king as the child of Tuthmosis I. To achieve this, she skillfully employed art, architecture and inscriptions, notably by;
- Promoting the divine conception myth on her mortuary temple at Deir el Bahri.
- Claiming that her father named her as his successor (in her mortuary temple).
- Claiming that she restored Egypt after the damage cause by the Hyksos in the Second Intermediate Period (in the temple of Pakhet at Beni Hassan).
She did not seek to exclude Tuthmosis III, or usurp his throne.
In scenes where she appears with Tuthmosis III she is closer to the gods and usually strikes a more active pose.
Neither did she attempt to hide her own femininity, simply to adapt the iconography of a king to her own position. The temple is renowned for its elegant design and harmonious integration into the landscape.
However, that was not the end of her story.